An electronic device may be configured with a near field communication (NFC) functionality. The NFC functionality may relate to a variety of short range communication technologies such as a range of 40 millimeters. A NFC reader may enable a first device to communicate with a second device so that data may be exchanged between the first and second devices via the NFC functionality. For example, when a purchase is made, credit card data may be exchanged between a cellular phone and a cash register. Conventional devices with the NFC functionality may recognize predetermined criteria such as interface gestures to initiate a file sharing functionality via the NFC reader.
Conventional electronic devices incorporating the NFC functionality often maintain the NFC reader in an activated state to allow a user to utilize the NFC functionality at any time. However, the exchange of data related to the NFC functionality generally takes a very short time such as half a second. Therefore, an electronic device may require continuous power to leave the NFC reader activated, thereby draining power the entire time. For example, if the electronic device leaves the NFC reader activated for an 8-hour day and an average of 40 NFC tags are read, the NFC reader is only used for about 20 seconds in the 8-hour period. Thus, a vast majority of the power (99.93%) used to maintain the NFC reader in the activated state is being wasted.